One week after Kei left H City—
[Med Student Not Bald Yet]: "Why isn't Sword Immortal on the H City rescue list? Is there some shady cover-up going on?!"
[Online Web Novelist]: "You noticed too, huh? I thought I was the only one who saw that."
[Fairy Girl Arrives]: "How could someone like him make the list? I already posted his dirty secrets on Little White Book. Here are the details of his misconduct!"
[Fairy Girl Arrives]: "And a few men who tried to assault me—my girls have all their names recorded."
[Fairy Girl Arrives]: "Also those soldiers who just stood there doing nothing while I was being bullied. I'm telling you, all men in the army—so unfair!"
[Fairy Girl Arrives]: "If it were female soldiers, I bet they'd have judged things fairly!"
[Angry Bro]: "WTF, you hear yourself?! WTF!"
[Angry Bro]: "What, haven't had enough beatings?! Drop an address and let's see how long you last!"
[Online Web Novelist]: "Do you even hear the crap you're saying? Always punching air online."
[Web Novelist]: "When danger really comes, you're the first to scream and play the victim. Do you even know how many people Sword Immortal saved?!"
[Web Novelist]: "Just at the evac point near me, there were nearly ten thousand people saved by him!"
[Fairy Girl Arrives]: "That was just fake heroics. Hypocrite! Down with him!"
[Med Student Not Bald Yet]: "I don't usually swear, but right now I really want to curse out her entire family."
[Med Student Not Bald Yet]: "But arguing online is pointless. I'm finding her now and going face-to-face!"
[Angry Bro]: "Count me in!"
[Law Student Trying to Graduate]: "Count me in!"
[Online Web Novelist]: "I'm coming too!"
[Swallow in the Flames]: "I got insider info from an official channel. The only reason Sword Immortal isn't on the list is because he doesn't care about fame or reward!"
[Swallow in the Flames]: "To him, saving people was just something he did along the way. Like helping a kid up who fell on the street—do you need a news crew to film that?"
[Swallow in the Flames]: "According to official stats, 80% of H City survivors were saved by him!"
[Swallow in the Flames]: "He may not care, but he really did save the entire city!"
[Angry Bro]: "Bro is right. Upvote this!"
[Online Web Novelist]: "Upvote!"
[Med Student Not Bald Yet]: "That lunatic secretly posted trash about our guy on Little White Book. We putting up with that?!"
[Swallow in the Flames]: "No way!"
[Med Student Not Bald Yet]: "Here's the link. Let's go destroy her!"
Swallow in the Flames opened the link instantly and began typing with both hands on dual keyboards like he was born for battle. One man was worth the firepower of ten, but Little White Book was full of fairies—he was outnumbered!
"Brothers, help me flame her! If the Five Elements Squad unites, we're unstoppable!"
He messaged his hospital roommates—
"Bro, you know I can't flame people, I got a dumb mouth," said Little Mu with a sheepish grin.
"Useless. Resting is better," said Ice Snake coldly, pulling the blanket over himself. But under it, he took out his phone and joined the battle—he was actually a die-hard fan of Kei.
When Kei's sword cut across H City, Ice Snake was shook to the core. From then on, he became a hidden fan, too shy to admit it, but secretly following everything online.
"Weren't we supposed to be bros? Are you bros or not—wait, who's that guy flaming harder than me?!"
Swallow looked at the username—
[I Am Not Ice Snake]: "If I didn't know Ice Bro better, I'd think this was him, lol!"
"It's not me! I don't care about that stuff!" Ice Snake quickly denied.
Swallow didn't suspect him and returned to the online war. As more people joined in, Fairy Girl couldn't respond anymore. Half the city owed their lives to Kei, and that was enough to drown her in backlash.
Eventually, she cracked—deleted her post, deleted her account, and logged off.
"Oh yeah, we won!" Swallow shouted.
"Yeah, victory!" Ice Snake blurted out—then panicked. "I mean... I meant the battle against the Zombie King!"
"I'm talking about the online battle—we defended our hero's honor!"
"I gotta tell the old general. He always types so slow and gets overwhelmed, but this will cheer him up!"
Swallow messaged the general, and the two of them celebrated. Swallow then formed a fan group with the most active members.
[Swallow in the Flames]: "We won this battle, but those haters will come back. I suggest we form a group to unite!"
[I Am Not Ice Snake]: "I'm not Ice Snake, but I agree with Swallow!"
[Angry Bro]: "Same!"
[Law Student Trying to Graduate]: "Swallow bro, where do you get all this insider info—are you with the government?!"
[Swallow in the Flames]: "Shh! It's just a side account, don't blow my cover. Ahem, I'm just a handsome passerby."
[Med Student Not Bald Yet]: "We get it. Whatever Swallow bro says, goes!"
[Med Student Not Bald Yet]: "Swallow bro, you said you saw the final battle yourself. Tell us what happened!"
[Swallow in the Flames]: "You guys are so passionate... okay, but keep this to yourselves, alright?"
He started recounting Kei's battle. There was a bit of dramatic flair, but mostly it was accurate.
Did I see him fly in on a sword? Maybe not. But did he appear after that sword light? Facts are facts!
Ice Snake giggled under his blanket, reading with joy. Next to him, Little Mu was confused.
"What are you two doing? First mad, then laughing? Eh, whatever. I'll stick to gardening."
Somewhere in another city—
A little girl, Xiaolu, was walking with her mom.
"Mom, there's a puppy over there. He looks hungry."
She pulled out a beef treat and handed it to the dog in the alley.
"Wanna eat?"
"Woof!" Ham swallowed it in one bite, tears in his eyes.
Since fleeing H City, he got lost and wandered for 7 days without food. He didn't dare steal—what if Kei caught him and sliced him up? Dumpster diving? Too degrading for a noble hellhound!
He was about to pass out when Xiaolu found him.
"Xiaolu, don't feed stray dogs. They could bite, and some human food is toxic to dogs."
"But Mom, he looks so pitiful. Can we bring him home, at least for a meal?"
"No, I'll contact a shelter instead."
"Woof!" Ham panicked. A shelter sounded terrifying!
On instinct, he rolled over and exposed his belly.
"I'm cute and pitiful—please keep me!!"
"He wants to come with us, Mom!"
"Well... he doesn't look like a stray. Maybe a lost pet. Alright, we'll take him in for now."
She bathed him with flea shampoo, then made him a bowl of homemade dog food.
"I'm a noble hellhound! This isn't beef—it's chicken! I don't eat chicken!"
But after one sniff, he drooled.
"I'll just taste it... hmm, not bad. Just one more bite—wait, it's gone?!"
"Wow, such a tiny thing but eats so much. What breed is he?"
Xiaolu's mom, an animal researcher, was skilled in animal care. After a few good meals, Ham decided: he's not going back.
He was gonna live here now. He was Xiaolu's watchdog!
"What are you drawing, Xiaolu?"
"I'm drawing Uncle! He saved me and helped me find Mommy. He's a hero! Hmm... how do you write 'hero'?"
Ham peeked at her crayon doodle—messy as it was, he recognized the figure instantly.
"Oh no... I really can't escape his grasp!"
Ham didn't think it was a coincidence. He felt Kei had everything under control—maybe spies were watching him even now.
No matter what he did, someone would report it and he'd get smacked down.
"...Flame Nation is too dangerous. I'm going back to the EU!"
"Xiaolu, go play. I'm gonna cook something new for the dog today!"
"Okay! But let him eat first, then leave later!"
Ham gave in to temptation. "Fine, let them watch me—I'm not doing anything bad!"
Xiaolu's luck MAX! She found and successfully tamed a rare hellhound to guard the house. Home security greatly increased!
At the Xingyi Martial Arts School—
Not everyone attended the reunion. Aside from Ye Wutian, Ye Wushuang, and the Butcher, Kei and Ye Wuxia were still away.
Kei had things to do, and Wuxia was abroad.
Still, Ye Wumian invited some old friends—Elder Wu Fa of the Taiji Sect and former leader Niu Erzhu of the Seven Stars Sect.
The three old men sipped tea together.
"Your disciple made headlines again."
"One sword shocked the world!"
"Hahaha, I'm not bragging or anything, but Kei really is amazing!"
Ye Wumian didn't know the word 'modesty.'
"I knew from the first moment I saw him—this kid was destined for greatness!"
"Now he's slaying god-tier monsters with one sword, hahaha!"
"Old Niu, I want to go home."
"Same. Listening to this bragging gives me heart palpitations."
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Come on, have some tea."
The three elders lounged peacefully—too old for alcohol, tea would do.
"Dad, is Uncle Five really that strong?"
Mao Mao asked, having seen many online posts about Kei—praising him like a god: handsome, kind, detached from fame.
"You saw him at the last gathering. He even gave you a red envelope."
"At the time I just thought, wow, Uncle's young. And... he eats a lot."
"That's called 'returning to simplicity.' If he doesn't act, you'd never know his strength."
"Ask him next time he's back—though that might be years."
"Shallow waters can't raise a dragon. He has to go out and roam."
"And Kei's never been the quiet type."
Ye Wumian added, "When I die, he'll definitely come back for my funeral. Probably ten years from now."
"You wish. I bet you've only got a few years left."
"I'm still the youngest! Lots of life left in me!"
The three old men bickered again. All around a hundred years old, they'd long accepted life and death.
Meanwhile, in Vatican City—
The Pope was meeting a young man.
"The Gates of Hell are extremely dangerous! Are you sure about going in?"
"If it weren't dangerous, I wouldn't bother. You guys have been guarding it for years—got any intel? Tell me everything."
"We know a little. Hold on."
He rummaged through ancient tomes and pulled out a dusty book.
"Found it. Look—someone from Flame Nation entered the Gates of Hell a thousand years ago."
"He also used what you call a sword. Seriously, why do you people keep running toward danger?"
"Because it's a challenge. Danger is what makes us strong."
Kei smiled as he answered.
(End of Chapter)
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